WEST VALLEY CITY - A couple featured on America's Most Wanted has been arrested in Utah after years on the run.
William Balser and Robin Lee Robinson have been on the run from police since 1998 and allegations of sexual abuse go back to 1994.
They were wanted by the Manteca Police Department in California for multiple counts of child molestation including unlawful intercourse with a child, lewd acts with a child and a continuous sexual abuse of a child.
Officers said Balser is believed to have used brute force and intimidation to commit violent acts against children.
One of the girls went to police in 1998 and Balser was briefly jailed.
Police said the mother talked the girl out of pressing charges, he was released from jail and he and Robinson went on the run.
Officers said at one point he left a message with police basically taunting them, saying they would nev
er find him.
In 2006, the US Marshals and Manteca Police started working together to find the couple.
They traced leads through multiple states but had no luck until they shifted their focus to Salt Lake City in 2015.
Investigators said they believed the couple assumed new identities and were living in the area.
U.S. Marshals Service Violent Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team conducted weeks of surveillance and on July 29, saw people they believed to be Balser and Robinson at a home in the 4400 block of Dean St. in West Valley City.
Officials quickly moved in.
Robinson ran from the house and was taken into custody but Balser initially stayed inside.
Authorities saw he had a shotgun and handgun inside the house with him but he eventually complied with commands and was taken into custody.
The pair originally denied their identities however, authorities confirmed who they were with fingerprints.
Balser and Robinson were booked into the Salt Lake County Detention Center and are awaiting extradition to California.
